


Tough Love

by BasicallyRavenclaw



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:13:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9619205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BasicallyRavenclaw/pseuds/BasicallyRavenclaw
Summary: Inouye Erika (OC) loves volleyball. And she's good at it. Which is why she shouldn't have gone to Karasuno High School... They aren't called the 'Fallen Powerhouse' for nothing. The boys, however, are doing much better than the girls' team. They are finding their wings. And the least likely of them all, Kageyama Tobio, helps Erika find hers. But Tsukishima is jealous...





	1. First Day

"Wake up!" a voice interrupted Inouye Erika's sleep.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," she said, crawling out of bed. "I'm getting out of bed…" She yawned, standing up.

"Breakfast is almost ready," Erika's mom, the voice who woke her up, said. Footsteps echoed, indicating she had left the room.

The teenage girl started to get ready for school. She was a first-year at Karasuno High School, and it was her first day there. Erika grabbed her school uniform and put it on. Walking into the washroom, she brushed her teeth. Then, she brushed her wavy brown hair and walked downstairs to eat breakfast.

"Good morning," she greeted her parents.

She ate breakfast thinking about how the day would go. Who would she meet? Would they be nice? Erika finished her breakfast with a last bite.

"Be careful on the way to school!" her parents called as she left the house.

"Don't worry, I will!" she replied over her shoulder.

Erika walked to her new high school, only slightly nervous. Erika wasn't easily intimidated, and that applied for many situations.

At least she had people she knew going to Karasuno. Her best friends from junior high, Katsura Arisu and Fujita Otsune.

Arisu was very shy, almost the complete opposite of Erika. Otsune was pretty similar to Erika, just a little bit more boy-crazy and head-strong. Actually, as she thought about it, a  _lot_ more boy-crazy and head-strong.

She knew this, as well as the fact that she almost always got the guy. Erika didn't care much at all, though. Otsune  _was_ really pretty. Her thoughts were cut off as she reached the school.

Erika entered the school, subconsciously looking for her friends or anyone else she knew. Her quest bore no results, so Erika proceeded to her classroom. Except she had no idea where that was. Erika had a map of Karasuno, but that wasn't much help, so she asked the first person she saw for directions.

He was tall, towering above her 165 centimeters of height, with blonde hair and glasses. A passive and cold expression masked his face. Erika instantly disliked him, as she hated people who tried to mask their emotions. Or rather, she hated  _one_ particular guy from her past with said qualities.

Shaking her thoughts away, Erika asked, "Excuse me, can you tell me where class 1-4 is?"

"1-4? I'm in the same class," he said without emotion. "Just follow me."

Erika did as he said, not speaking a word. Soon enough, they arrived at a classroom. "Inouye Erika," she introduced herself, making an effort to be polite.

"Tsukishima Kei," he replied. "Nice to meet you." His voice, however, did not make Erika feel nice to be met. Rather, the opposite. Tsukishima turned around and walked away, leaving her standing there.

"Erika!" a familiar voice called.

"Arisu!" Erika called back. "You're in this class?"

"Yep," she replied.

Arisu was a pretty girl with straight, blonde hair. Many boys crushed on her, but her shy and polite nature always turned them down. She just couldn't handle a relationship, not after what happened a year ago.

Erika was never jealous, because even more boys confessed to her. She's always been the "popular" girl, but really, this is a fact she couldn't care less about. In fact, Erika hoped at Karasuno, she wouldn't be as well-known. She always stayed to her small group of friends, which included Arisu and another girl named Fujita Otsune. They've been friends for years now.

"Is Otsune in this class too? Have you seen her?" Erika asked.

"She's not in this class and yes, I have seen her. She's in class 1-3," Arisu replied.

Erika nodded her understanding and suddenly said, "Crap! Class is starting." She gestured up at the teacher.

They sat down and class commenced. Erika nearly fell asleep, but managed to pay attention. When they were dismissed for lunch, Erika and Arisu looked for Otsune.

"Oh, there she is," Arisu said.

They saw the black-haired girl sitting at a table, talking to a boy also with black hair who Erika vaguely remembered from her class. Beside the boy was Tsukishima, the boy Erika met earlier. He seemed to be bored out of his mind. Otsune, on the other hand, was obviously flirting. Yeah, Erika wasn't surprised at all. She would probably ask Erika and Arisu to stalk boys with her later. That wouldn't be a surprise either.

"Otsune," Erika called out.

The girl turned to her friends, who walked towards her. "Hey, Erika," she said.

Tsukishima doesn't say anything to acknowledge the fact they had met each other already.

"Tsukishima-san," she nodded towards the blonde-haired boy.

Only then does he greet her, "Inouye-san."

"You know each other?" asked Otsune and the black-haired boy in unison.

"We met earlier today," Erika explained, as Tsukishima kept silent, pulling his headphones over his ears.

"Tadashi Yamaguchi," the black-haired boy said. "I'm Tsukki's friend."

"I'm Katsura Arisu," Arisu said.

They all ate lunch together, talking, with the exception of Tsukishima, who seemed very anti-social. He only talked when Yamaguchi told him to and seemed to not want to be sitting with them at all. He was probably only here because of Yamaguchi. Erika learned they were all first-years, and the boys planned on participating in the volleyball club.

"Do you think there are any hot guys in the volleyball club?" whispered Otsune.

"That's all you're thinking of right now? Hot guys?" asked Erika, exasperated.

Otsune shrugged. "I plan to have at least one boyfriend before the end of this year," she said.

Arisu piped up. "That's not gonna be that hard, you've had plenty of boys like you," she brought up.

Otsune sighed. "Yeah, but none of them were like 'woah' hot…"

"Does it really matter?" argued Arisu. "I mean, if you like their personality…" She blushed. The group knew she had a boyfriend back in middle school, but it didn't last very long. He cheated on her. But she liked him a considerable amount. She was pretty depressed when she found out, but from it, Arisu learned that nothing is forever. "On a second thought, personalities can be deceiving," she said, sadness slightly tainting her voice.

"Wait, did lunch end?" asked Erika suddenly. She checked her watch. "Damn, we're gonna be late if we don't hurry."

They went back to their classes, Otsune leaving to go a different way to her different class. As school ended, the three of them met up to talk about clubs.

"My mom wants me to join one, but I don't know which one…" Erika sighed.

"Same…" said Arisu. "I was thinking… Maybe the art club?"

"I was thinking about that too," said Otsune.

"I sort of want to do a sport," said Erika. "I mean, I'm pretty fit and athletic. I also love sports." Mumbling, she added quietly, "Even after what happened."

Luckily, her friends didn't hear her.

"Which one?" asked Otsune, curious. "Although it's pretty obvious already, having known you for so long. You started playing like before we even knew you! Which is a long time…"

"Yeah," added Arisu.

"Well…" Erika hesitated. She loved that sport, it made her feel amazing. But, she couldn't trust this year would be better than the last three. But, she made up her mind. "Yeah, you're right. I am going to join volleyball." In her head, she added a small  _maybe._

* * *

**First chapter is here! Hope you enjoy! Also, this is my first time using AO3. I usually use fanfiction.net, so please forgive me for any, I dunno, publishing mistakes I made? Please review and all that stuff. I sound very professional using "stuff" right? :D**

 


	2. King of the Court

"C'mon!" Otsune said, dragging Erika and Arisu by the arm. "It's time for the boys' volleyball practice!"

It had been a month since school started, and finally, Otsune was dragging them to spy on "hot" guys.

"Otsune, I actually have art club right now," said Arisu.

"Oh," said Otsune. "Right." She let go of her arm but kept her grip on Erika's arm.

"I have something too-" started Erika.

"No you don't, you told me!" argued Otsune. "I didn't join the art club because this is the only day you're free and art club is today! So, come with me!"

"Ugh, fine…" Erika knew there was no arguing with Otsune once she made up her mind. "Where's the gym?"

"Follow me," said Otsune.

Erika did as she said, very reluctantly. Just to annoy her friend, she complained the whole way. Erika stopped when they arrived at the gym. It was a cool fall day, with a gentle breeze blowing. The gym door was open and she could see boys practicing inside. Otsune walked inside slowly, and sat down on a bench along the wall. Erika followed her and seated herself beside her.

Otsune was looking at the boys, and Erika knew her well enough to know what she was doing - determining their level of "hotness". Erika sighed. Otsune was hopeless.

"Look at that guy," breathed Otsune. "He's so hot."

"Why do you use 'hot' to describe every guy you find attractive?" Erika said, rolling her eyes.

"Because that's what they are!"

Erika sighed. "Which one?" she asked in an annoyed and exasperated voice.

"The one with the black hair," whispered Otsune in reply.

"There's more than one guy with black hair," pointed out Erika.

"The one with the blue eyes," the boy-crazy girl clarified.

Erika looked carefully among the black-haired boys and saw one with blue eyes. He was very serious-looking, with a seemingly permanent scowl etched on his face. From what Erika could tell, he was a setter. And he was good. Very good. He was what you would call a genius setter, a prodigy.

"Hey, can you get that please?" asked a short boy with fiery red hair. He indicated to a ball rolling towards Erika.

She picked it up and handed it back to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked innocently. When she didn't answer, the boy that Otsune was fawning over came and hit the short boy on the head.

"OW! KAGEYAMA!" he exclaimed in pain.

The prodigy setter, who Erika presumed was Kageyama, glared at him. "Stop bothering people," he told the short boy. "Back to practice."

"Sorry about that," Kageyama grumbled. "Hinata can't help his dumbass nature."

Erika let out a small laugh. "It's fine. He wasn't being rude," she said.

"Gotta go back to practice now," Kageyama said abruptly. With that, he turned around, returning to the current drill.

"If he had asked why we're here, what would you have said?" Otsune asked.

"Uh, personal reasons?"

"Personal reasons?" hissed Otsune. "Seriously?"

Erika shrugged. "Crushing on a boy counts as a 'personal reason'," she said.

Otsune didn't reply. So they continued watching the practice, Otsune with a lovestruck look and Erika with a slightly annoyed look. They were both watching the genius setter, however, their reasons were different. Otsune was gazing because of her, well, crush. But Erika, who played volleyball, was observing his technique.

"Sensei!" a third year called.

Everyone paused what they were doing to look at the door. A young adult stepped through the door.

"Thank you, Sugawara-san," he said to the third year.

He nodded in reply, then turned to face the rest of the group. "This is Takeda-sensei," he said, introducing the newcomer.

"First years, line up," Takeda told them.

Four people did as he said, standing side by side. Erika noticed the setter was among them, surprising her because his skill level was above most people his age.

"Introduce yourselves," Takeda ordered them. "Tell us why you joined this club."

"Tsukishima Kei," said Tsukishima. "I joined because I had nothing else to do. And because Yamaguchi asked me to."

"Yamaguchi Tadashi," introduced Yamaguchi. "I just like volleyball."

"Kageyama Tobio," announced Kageyama. "I wanted to play and win more volleyball, so I joined this team."

"Hinata Shoyo," said the short boy Kageyama had called Hinata. "I joined this team because I want to continue playing volleyball through high school!"

"Second years and third years, introduce yourselves to our new team," Takeda said.

"I'm Tanaka Ryunosuke," said a bald second year. "But call me Tanaka-senpai. I'm a wing spiker."

A short boy with black hair and a blonde tuft of hair laughed. "They'll call  _me_  senpai. Nishinoya-senpai," he said proudly.

"Tell them your first name, position, and year too," said Takeda.

"I'm in my second year and my first name is Yuu," Nishinoya said. "I'm the libero! The one man army!"

Everyone rolled their eyes, except for Hinata, who screamed, "So cool!"

"Chikara Ennoshita," said a black-haired player. "I'm a second year and wing spiker."

"I'm also in my second year, and I'm Kinoshita Hisashi," a dirty-blonde haired boy said. "I play wing spiker and pinch server."

"Second year, Narita Kazuhito," said a guy with a shaved head. "Middle blocker."

"Sugawara Koshi," said the third year that introduced Takeda. "Third year, vice captain, and setter."

"Azumane Asahi," said a older-looking guy with brown hair and a goatee. "I'm the ace and a third year."

"Sawamura Daichi, I'll be your team captain this year, so I'm a third year." the last person said.

"And finally, this is our manager, Shimizu Kiyoko," Takeda said. "Now that introductions are finished, let's get started!"

"What about our coach?" asked Tsukishima.

"Oh, um," said Takeda with uncertainty. "Still… Working on that part."

"They don't have a coach?" said Erika aloud. The team didn't hear her, but their manager did, who was sitting beside them.

"Their old coach, Ukai, retired," she explained. "They haven't found a coach since."

"I see," said Erika, frowning. "It's going to be hard to practice without a coach."

Shimizu sighed. "Yes, but they manage on their own. Sort of."

"I can see what you mean by 'sort of'," laughed Erika. "Not the most responsible of boys, aren't they," she commented, watching Tanaka chase Nishinoya around.

"You're right," agreed Shimizu. "Are you just here watching?"

"I'm here because my friend asked me to come," she replied, indicating Otsune. She leaned closer to the manager. "She's got a crush on that setter, Kageyama."

Shimizu seemed surprised, then laughed. "Oh, I see," she said, watching Otsune staring at the black-haired boy. "And you are?"

"Inouye Erika," she said, holding out her hand. "You can call me Erika."

"I'm Shimizu Kiyoko," said the girl. "You can also call me by my first name."

They shook hands.

"So, what year are you in?" asked Erika.

"Third year," answered Kiyoko. "You?"

"First," said Erika.

They continued talking while watching the boys. After a while, they just observed the team and stopped making conversation. Kageyama seemed to gradually get more and more frustrated, screaming at his teammates, in particular Hinata.

"Sorry!" he would reply, bowing.

Then they tried again. And again.

Kiyoko noticed Erika watching them and commented, "They used to be the worst of enemies in middle school. Hinata swore to someday beat Kageyama, the king of the court."

"King of the court?" asked Erika.

"He is the setter, the player that controls the game. His technique is great, but his teamwork is not. He played volleyball like he was the only player on the court. One day, he set, and there was no one there to spike. His tosses were way too reckless and he never thought about the kind of tosses his teammates wanted. It was a lesson for him. When he came to Karasuno, he and Hinata were always fighting. Daichi banned them from the club until they could work together. They have, even though they fight more than occasionally."

"Ah," said Erika after this long explanation. She understood the feeling that she was the only player on the court. After all, she has always been the best player on the team, a setter, and ignored her teammates' abilities. She was even known for it. The Setter Queen, they called her. But it was a name only to mock her, like Kageyama's "King of the Court".

In fact, they were exactly alike.


	3. Neighbors

“I’m Inouye Erika,” she introduced herself. “I’m a setter.”

She was finally at her first volleyball practice. They were doing introductions, just like the boys in their practice. After introductions were finished, they started playing. They tried to, at least.

“Got it!” yelled a girl. She received the ball that was tossed over, and attempted to get it to Erika, who was playing setter. Instead, the ball went to the opposite side of the court. The player that was closest to the ball didn’t even try to get it. The ball landed on the floor.

_ Thud. _ Erika stared at the ball that was now rolling in her direction. She was expecting so much more than this level of skill and commitment. After seeing the boys, she thought that the girls would at least be  _ almost _ at the same level. But they weren’t even close. Only the captain worked hard.

After the agonizing practice, she left for home with a heavy heart. She was supposed to walk with someone, but there was no one she knew who walked the same route as her. Erika sighed. She hoped that her team would improve.

Erika heard footsteps echo behind her. She slowly turned around, thinking it might be a thief or some sort of kidnapper. After all, no one really walked this route. Her eyes fell on the figure approaching. It was a male. A teenage male, to be specific.

_ He’s familiar, _ thought Erika.  _ Where would I have seen him? _ She saw the gym bag in his hand and she could see kneepads through the open top. She then saw his black hair and blue eyes, and realized.

“Kageyama Tobio?” she said aloud in surprise.

He looked up from the ground. “And who might you be?”

“Inouye Erika,” she said. “I’ve watched your practices before. You have good technique.”

Kageyama didn’t reply. The complement was obviously something he got a lot. But that wasn’t all that mattered. Erika knew this well.

“I’m a setter too, you know,” Erika told him. “I didn’t play well with my teammates either. Kiyoko told me about your… Challenges.”

“I don’t need your sympathy,” he said quietly but angrily. “I think I’ve figured things out.” The setter continued walking down the path.

“Okay, then,” Erika mumbled to herself. “I was only trying to help you.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Kageyama called back to her. “And I don’t need your help, I’m fine.” He really did have a bad temper.

Erika expected Kageyama to turn left when she turned right, but he walked on the same course as her. In fact, as she reached her house, he went into the one 7 houses down. They were neighbors.

As soon as she was in her room, Erika grabbed her phone and started texting.

_ im neighbors with kageyama tobio, _ she sent to the group chat with her, Otsune, and Arisu.

Almost immediately, she received a reply from Otsune.  _ OMG rlly?? _

_ yep, _ she replied.  _ the very one you have a crush on. _

_ how did you find out? Are you sure?  _ Came Otsune’s reply.

Erika sighed. So many questions.  _ yes, im sure because he walked into the house that was, what, 7 houses down from mine. i ran into him on the way home. not literally. _

She waited for the reply.  _ oh wow,  _ it said.  _ thats a strange coincidence. _

_ it is,  _ Erika texted.  _ no kidding. _

She set down her phone. Kageyama walking the same route as her… That meant she would see him every single day. The idea excited her for a reason she couldn’t place.

_ No,  _ she told herself.  _ I’m not going to be Otsune on this one. I do NOT have a crush or any feelings for Kageyama Tobio. Besides, Otsune might be jealous. Maybe she’s already jealous. It might ruin our friendship. _

As these thoughts ran through her head, she realized how foolish she was. She didn’t even know the guy that well! She was being stupid.

The rest of the day went by and Erika didn’t think of the genius setter at all. Only as she lay her head down to sleep did she think about him for a split second.

_ Maybe I can ask him for tips,  _ thought Erika.  _ After all, he’s probably much more skilled than me. It’s hard to tell when I’m not playing with or against him. But being able to work with another setter could and would benefit me. _

She decided that maybe the next day she would go ask Kageyama if he had some spare time to practice with her. Then, her thoughts became sluggish and she fell into sleep.

Bright sunlight shone through the windows and an alarm rang loudly. Erika sat up and yawned. She got ready for school and headed out.

“Oh,” she said quietly as she saw Kageyama head out his door. She almost forgot yesterday’s events. “Hi?” she greeted him uncertainly.

“It’s you again,” he grumbled, but not with much force. He seemed pretty tired.

Erika remembered what she wanted to ask him from last night. “Hey, I was wondering-”

She was cut off by a voice. “Tobio! Who is that girl?”

The person who spoke was obviously related to Kageyama. She was a young adult calling from the door of their house.

“Our neighbor,” he told her. His voice had become surprising soft and gentle. “She goes to Karasuno too.”

“How did you not know before?” she asked.

“I guess we never walked home at the same time,” he shrugged.

“Well, from now on, walk with her, okay? It’s not safe out there for you to walk completely by yourself.”

Kageyama looked annoyed. “I barely know her.”

“It doesn’t matter, just walk with her, people are less likely to try to kidnap you or something,” she ordered him. “You don’t even have to talk to her. But you should.”

“Okay, okay,” he said, giving up.

“Which house do you live in?” the girl politely asked Erika. “So we can talk to your family about arrangements.”

“Number 14,” she replied.

“This very street?” Kageyama’s relative asked for clarification.

“Yes,” said an exasperated Kageyama.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself,” the adolescent said. “Kageyama Kaya. You can call me Kaya if you want.”

“Inouye Erika,” said Erika.

“We’re gonna be late,” Kageyama pointed out. “Bye  oneesan,” he called to Kaya.

“Oneesan?” Erika asked as they started walking. “She’s your older sister?”

Kageyama nodded. “She’s older by 4 years.”

“I see,” Erika said. “I have an older brother.”

“Really?” Kageyama asked despite his usual attitude. “Are older brothers as annoying as older sisters?”

“I don’t know, though from what I’ve been told, younger siblings are worse.” She coughed dramatically, which sounded a lot like “us”.

Kageyama laughed. His usual stern attitude seemed to have worn away a little.

They walked the rest of the way without talking but the tension had been eased up a bit. Kageyama seemed to not mind Erika’s presence as much and Erika was much more comfortable around him. Maybe they would become friends after all…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have discovered end notes. So, I guess I'll write my author's notes here now. This is the last chapter I have written previously, so don't expect another chapter in the next minute. Anyway, again, enjoy and all that stuff.


	4. Too Far

_ How did you not get that?  _ Erika thought, frustrated. She was at yet another practice that wasn’t going much better than the first one or the previous ones. However, she still went to the practices. Even if her teammates had horrible skills and weren’t committed at all. Because that’s how much she loved volleyball.

“Sorry,” the girl who had let the ball drop said, ashamed. “I’m not that good at volleyball…”

“That’s fine,” Erika said, slightly guilty for putting her down, even if she only did so in her head. “If you practice, then you’ll get better. After all, you joined the club because you like volleyball.”

The girl suddenly looked embarrassed. She dropped her gaze, looking at the floor bashfully. Erika found out why after the practice.

“I don’t like volleyball. I only joined because it makes me sound cool and athletic,” she told Erika.

After that encounter, Erika didn’t have much hope for her new volleyball team. But, she practiced hard nevertheless. She headed to the gym with the intent to practice on jump float serves, which she didn’t really need to know how to do but wanted to do anyway. They were powerful and trickier to receive. But as ball after ball hit the net and fell to the floor, she grew frustrated. Why wasn’t she able to do this serve? She had all the skill… Or at least she thought. Maybe she wasn’t as good as everyone thought she was. These string of thoughts always went through Erika’s head when she was frustrated. It always left her feeling resentful and doubting herself. Each serve grew worse and worse but she still hit with all her power. A tear made its way down her cheek.

“Inouye-san,” said a voice, interrupting her practice.

Erika stopped trying to serve and turned to look. It was Tsukishima.

“It’s dark. You should go home,” he pointed out. “Don’t over practice. It doesn’t do you any good.”

“Leave me alone,” she said, voice breaking. Erika turned around. She tossed a ball up. Then, she spiked it. A regular spike serve, but this was her outlet. It hit the ground on the other side of the net with immense power. Then she screamed and collapsed to the ground. Her shoulder was engulfed with pain.

“Breathe,” she whispered to herself after a few seconds of pain. She did. The pain became a bit more bearable. Then, Erika tried to move her arm. It didn’t work. Something was wrong. Slowly, she tried to stand up.

“Don’t do that,” Tsukishima said.

Erika startled. She had forgotten he was there.

“Sit back down,” he told her passively. He walked over to her and regarded her state. “You sure have a bad temper,” he noted, looking at her tear-stained cheeks. “Not much control of emotions. Stupid way to get injured.”

Erika glared at him. “You’re not helping.”

He made a  _ tch  _ sound in reply. “What’s the injury, anyway?”

“I think I dislocated my shoulder,” Erika said uncertainly.

“Let me see,” Tsukishima commanded.

She turned her shoulder towards him. It was swelling and looking not as round and smooth as it had been before. He touched her slightly deformed shoulder. Erika shivered at his touch.

“Your hands are freezing,” she complained.

Tsukishima handed her his jacket. “Stay warm. You don’t want anymore injuries from not cooling down properly.”

Erika placed it over herself, leaving her injured shoulder exposed. Tsukishima touched her shoulder once more.

“That’s definitely swelling,” he informed her. “Try moving your shoulder.”

She did as he said only to be hit by another wave of intense pain. “Ow, no, that hurts,” she told him.

“Probably a dislocated shoulder then,” Tsukishima said. “I’ll go get help then.” He stood up.

“From where?” asked Erika.

“There are probably still staff left in the building,” replied Tsukishima. “I’ll be back soon.” With that, he walked away.

This left Erika with time to think. Why had she been so stupid as to injure herself? Tsukishima was right. She did have a horrible temper. Controlling her emotions was far more difficult than it should be. It had always been that way, and getting worse since her brother left. Again. He had left home, running away from the life where he had rules. Without a home, he could do what he wanted. But it completely broke Erika. She had been very close to her brother, and didn’t think of the possibility of him leaving. She was unprepared.

“Inouye-san,” Tsukishima called calmly. “Help is here.”

A school nurse took a look at Erika’s shoulder. “It’s dislocated for sure. I don’t have the training to pop it back in, so we’re going to have to take you to the hospital, okay?”

Erika nodded. She stood up carefully only to collapse. “My knee hurts,” said Erika quietly.

The nurse looked confused. “Knee? I thought it was just your shoulder.”

“I don’t know,” Erika said. She tried to stand up again only to get the same result. She carefully touched her left knee, the one that hurt. She took off her kneepad to inspect it.

“It’s swollen,” the nurse said. “You probably injured your knee too. We’ll call the hospital, and they’ll see what’s wrong.”

The injured girl nodded listlessly. How would her parents react? They would be so disappointed in her for being so reckless. She might not even be able to play volleyball for awhile. The thought scared her. How long would she take to heal? She looked over to Tsukishima, who had gotten her help. He was staring apathetically in the distance with his headphones in.

“Tsukishima-san,” she called to him.

He heard her through his headphones. “Yes?”

“Thanks for helping me back there,” Erika said. “I wouldn’t have been able to get help with the damn leg of mine. I was really stupid there, hurting myself. You were right. I shouldn’t over practice.”

Tsukishima made the  _ tch  _ sound with his tongue again. “Anyone would’ve done it. Doesn’t make me special.”

“I guess, but you’re the one who was there. So thank you.” She looked like she genuinely meant what she said.

“You’re welcome, I guess then,” Tsukishima said in reply.

“Why do you always seem like you don’t care at all?” asked Erika. “I mean, no offense or anything, but that’s what you act like all the time.”

Tsukishima didn’t answer immediately. “I just… am that way.”

“Ok…” said Erika. She knew that wasn’t the complete truth, but didn’t ask any further questions.

“Well I have to go get Yamaguchi who is probably still practicing, the idiot.” He started walking away without any farewell.

“Bye,” Erika called after him. “Thanks again.”

Tsukishima stopped. “Bye then.” He continued walking, away from Erika.

The paramedics soon came, and took Erika in the ambulance. Since it wasn’t a big emergency, it took them awhile to get there. As they drove silently into the night, Erika thought about the events that happened just then. They came totally unexpected. Especially Tsukishima’s appearance at the scene. Erika sighed. It was sure a had been a crazy night. She regarded her injured knee and shoulder.  _ And a night full of my stupidity,  _ thought Erika. She gazed out the small window in the vehicle. The stars twinkled brightly in the dark, black, sky. A bright light in the darkness. Hopefully, that’s what Erika would have. Something to hold on to. She didn’t know if it’d be a person, thing, or what. But she knew she needed it. After all, she had lost any wings to soar she had. She was a useless player now, someone that fitted the reputation of Karasuno - the flightless crows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy! I'm back with another chapter (finally). I'm sorry for all the delay and stuff. Hope you enjoy!


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